It seems as if there are more metal bassist on the web than anywhere else...

Bass players have always been ahead of things. -Electric basses were the first full electric instruments designed that way. Electric guitars were first nothing more than Acoustics fitted with a pick up!-We were the first to use and embrace hybrid amps. -There are more different basses around regarding the number of strings than any other stringed instrument.-We were the first ones to use both melody and rhythm in our playing (we are the glue that bonds drums with guitars and keyboards).

Need I give more examples? So it shouldn't be any wonder that we are the group that sees the internet as an opportunity instead of a threat!

Anyone have any suggestions for a good practice amp? I'm looking to spend roughly 300-400 USD on one. I'd like a good clean tone mainly.

Look for combos from well-known brands with not too high wattage. 50 Watts would be enough if the practicing is done at home alone.

If it is for practice with a band in a room where there are Guitar Amps going full bore and a drummer banging his kit in order to kill it you would be better off using what you would like to use on stage (provided you have already come to that stage of your playing life). When playing in a band situation you'll need enough Wattage to compete sonically with the guitars and drums and because the guitars are higher frequency instruments they need less wattage for the same attack to the ears. I would then roughly go for at least twice the wattage of the guitar amps!

When I was in that situation I used a Marshall DBS 7200 Head which delivered 200 Watts RMS and 2 kW max. The guitarists were using 100 Watts Marshall 30th anniversary amps. This worked well: everybody was audible enough not to get buried in the noise!

Pfft, anyone who doesn't use a pick is a mongoloid and is limiting themselves. I play with both pick and fingers, depending on what style depends on what I use, I seem to get a cleaner tone when finger picking but when I want to play faster and get a specific sound in combination with my distortion and overdrive picking seems to be the best way.

I really don't have an opinion on fretless, I don't play them nor do I care to so meh, a lot of people I know who play fretless generally aren't very good at it and didn't master fretted bass in the first place. Seems like more of an image thing.

Lol mongoloid... what a weird insult. And for the record, I am totally unable to use picks on a bass, I much prefer my fingers.

With such a screen name I can Imagine you would go for the original design. I prefer more modern design with modern day techniques incorporated in them.The right one is my preferred weapon!A five string bass with EMG's fitted into it!

With such a screen name I can Imagine you would go for the original design. I prefer more modern design with modern day techniques incorporated in them.The right one is my preferred weapon!A five string bass with EMG's fitted into it!

I have to tune my bass down to drop C, and I'm a complete noob. Right now I have the base set of strings, and they work great for standard, but should I get another set of strings of a different gauge for this? I'm certainly not ready to go for a 5-string yet, so that's discarded for now.

With such a screen name I can Imagine you would go for the original design. I prefer more modern design with modern day techniques incorporated in them.The right one is my preferred weapon!A five string bass with EMG's fitted into it!

I have to tune my bass down to drop C, and I'm a complete noob. Right now I have the base set of strings, and they work great for standard, but should I get another set of strings of a different gauge for this? I'm certainly not ready to go for a 5-string yet, so that's discarded for now.

When you go as low as drop C I would recommend thicker strings. A standard set has a .105 E string and tuning that down will give you a very sloppy sound.A Low B has a thickness of .125/.130 and tuning it slightly up to C will deliver you more clarity.So I would say: buy a five string set and install all strings but the G string! (That one you should give to your girlfriend! )

I have to tune my bass down to drop C, and I'm a complete noob. Right now I have the base set of strings, and they work great for standard, but should I get another set of strings of a different gauge for this? I'm certainly not ready to go for a 5-string yet, so that's discarded for now.

Yes, get a thicker set of strings. Rather than going for a five string set, I'd recommend making a set of single strings with roughly the same tension as your current strings have in standard.

When tuning lower, like drop C, I like to cut out all the treble on the bass amp and set the strings low, which allows a bit of noise that would otherwise by undesirable, but is effectively lost since all of the higher frequencies are from the guitars. It helps the bass cut through.

yeah man it's good to have heavier set of strings. . . I have a 4 string bass and a 5 string bass. My 5 string is tuned to Drop A for my main project but my 4 string I can tune from Drop D all the way down to Bb standard. Useful and versatile

yeah man it's good to have heavier set of strings. . . I have a 4 string bass and a 5 string bass. My 5 string is tuned to Drop A for my main project but my 4 string I can tune from Drop D all the way down to Bb standard. Useful and versatile

Do you have and problems with rattling or the strings being too loose when you go from drop D to Bb or do you switch out the string gauge you are using? I would think that going to Bb would require adjusting the setup somewhat but I have never messed with gauges on my bass.

It's the very same I have, love the sound of it, very powerful and warm, you can get great tones out of it, though I wouldn't get it if you're wanting a bright and percussive sound (as in say, for slapping a lot).

I've read some reviews before buying it where some people said it had sloppy finishings, but mine looks fine and works like a charm, so I guess it's kind of a roulette there.

Gotta add, the body is quite heavy compared to other basses I've tried, so if that's something that could bother you, better look for something else.

It's the very same I have, love the sound of it, very powerful and warm, you can get great tones out of it, though I wouldn't get it if you're wanting a bright and percussive sound (as in say, for slapping a lot).

I've read some reviews before buying it where some people said it had sloppy finishings, but mine looks fine and works like a charm, so I guess it's kind of a roulette there.

Gotta add, the body is quite heavy compared to other basses I've tried, so if that's something that could bother you, better look for something else.

First off, I'm looking for a leftie, as I'm a southpaw. I'm not sure if this is being produced left-handed. Furthermore, I'll be mostly focusing on stoner/drone/doom/60's/70's. Riffs. The simple thing would be to say a Fender Jazz/Precision, but what would you folks recommend?

Well, this bass, combined with some nice overdrive and fuzz gets an awesome tone for that type of music, which is actually what I use it for, I just lay down and drone away stonery riffs until I get tired.

If ya give me a few minits I'll record some shit so you can hear what the bass sounds like.

Well, this bass, combined with some nice overdrive and fuzz gets an awesome tone for that type of music, which is actually what I use it for, I just lay down and drone away stonery riffs until I get tired.

If ya give me a few minits I'll record some shit so you can hear what the bass sounds like.

No idea to be honest, me being right handed it is something I didn't even pay attention to when I was looking for a bass.Anyway, here it is, two distortions with guitarrig 5 and the last part is clean. Mind, my playing is very sloppy:

No idea to be honest, me being right handed it is something I didn't even pay attention to when I was looking for a bass.Anyway, here it is, two distortions with guitarrig 5 and the last part is clean. Mind, my playing is very sloppy:

yeah man it's good to have heavier set of strings. . . I have a 4 string bass and a 5 string bass. My 5 string is tuned to Drop A for my main project but my 4 string I can tune from Drop D all the way down to Bb standard. Useful and versatile

Do you have and problems with rattling or the strings being too loose when you go from drop D to Bb or do you switch out the string gauge you are using? I would think that going to Bb would require adjusting the setup somewhat but I have never messed with gauges on my bass.

not really, at least in my case. I have a Peavey Milestone 4 string (don't even know if they're available in 5 string but whatever) and when I changed the strings it was surprisingly damn versatile. I myself am even surprised, because to a degree it's sort of better than my ESP 5 string. Now don't get me wrong, I'm never selling my ESP bass at all, but I couldn't really play the songs that I like and how I like without my 4 string at all. I could very easily sell my 4 string and get a Gibson Thunderbird because I really fucking want one of those, but it would be much harder for me to get used to it because I'm accustomed to using Peavey and ESP instruments. Certain things on them are different (such as pickup styles (Bartolini, EMG), durability, etc). . . although some things you could easily change yourself, I'm just too damn lazy.

Well, my woman has just exceeded all expectations of all time and got me a gorgeous Gene Simmons Punisher bass for my birthday. Still getting used to the thinner fret board, but the thing plays like a dream, is light as hell, and looks badarse without being over the top.

1. Anyone who has commented saying "Picks are for pussies" or the opposite with "Finger players are closed minded". For fucks sakes, it's an instrument with infinite variations tonal and technical approach and all players should be finding the sound they like best. For the record, i 99% if the time use various parts of my hand, occasionally i will use a nice wooden plectrum if i need it for the tone or a certain technique. Sometimes i will use a corkscrew, sometimes i will use an onion... everything gets you a different sound. and some people aren't cavemen.

2. Fretless bass has it's place in every kind of music. it seems pretty rare in metal but a thousand new possibilities are presented to you as a player when you go fretless. I guess it's not always the right tone for your band, but not wrong for metal in general. I only play fretless in all my Death Metal and Doom. Fretless guitars can be great for metal as well but are very difficult for accurately playing chords up the neck.

3. Most important, to all bassists that like heavy.... Z.Vex Woolly Mammoth.

3. Most important, to all bassists that like heavy.... Z.Vex Woolly Mammoth.

Sounds cool. Don't know if it would suit my playing style, though - I prefer to get a good amount of "clean grunt", any distortion seems to make it all a bit too fuzzy for me. If I was to go the distortion route, however, something like that is what I want - as it seems to keep the bottom end fairly clean, which is really important to me.

Although a guitarist and keyboardist myself, I always felt that bassists were being shortchanged in metal (and rock in general) mixes. What's the point of even bothering to write and record basslines if they're only going to end up inaudible in the final mix? And additionally, why are bassists not more vocal in opposing this treatment of their contributions?

Because most bassists suck and just like the idea of being in a band would be my guess. So they pick what seems to be the easiest instrument to play... after all just playing the root notes for the guitar every now and then doesn't require much of an effort.

Don't let the majority become the absolute though, when a good bassist is doing his work you can bet you will notice his presence and the sound engineers won't be drowning him in the mix.

On a side note, the apparent lack of bass in the mixes might also be due to poor speakers/heaphones on your side that lack the power in the lower frequencies.

Although a guitarist and keyboardist myself, I always felt that bassists were being shortchanged in metal (and rock in general) mixes. What's the point of even bothering to write and record basslines if they're only going to end up inaudible in the final mix? And additionally, why are bassists not more vocal in opposing this treatment of their contributions?

There are enough Bassplayers that are audible in the mix. It depends on who mixed the final product and what the involvement of the band was in that respect.In music styles leaning towards more noisy sounds a bass will get buried almost always. In other styles the bass will be more audible if: 1 the mix was done properly2 the bass payer had more involvement in the mixdown3 the engineer didn't use too much compression on the bass4 the final product hasn't suffered from the "mix out as loud as possible" disease producers seem to have these last 10-15 years5 the Bass is a good sounding bass on it's own accord6 the bass player plays more than simply following the guitars

It also differs whether the bass player is a key member of the band or not! (look at Iron Maiden, Candlemass for bands started by the bass player opposed to bands like Yngwie J Malmsteen's Rising force where the guitar player was the leading band member!)

Although a guitarist and keyboardist myself, I always felt that bassists were being shortchanged in metal (and rock in general) mixes. What's the point of even bothering to write and record basslines if they're only going to end up inaudible in the final mix? And additionally, why are bassists not more vocal in opposing this treatment of their contributions?

I know this has probably been discussed a thousand times, but what are the real advantages to finger plucking over picking? (besides looking more badass of course) can you do more things/have more variety in your playing if you are using your fingers verses a pick? I ask because I am buying my first bass guitar tonight and what to know how to start out

EDIT. while im at it, ill add another queastion,. I got the bass and started finger plucking, is it ok that my fingers touch the pickup underneath the strings when plucking?